(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to purchasing systems via a public computer network system (Internet or World-Wide-Web). While the products sold on the Internet are often real and tangible, the market place exists in a virtual realm. To conduct the business of selling in the virtual realm of the Internet, a virtual transaction had to take place; or so it has been thought. This Invention requires non-virtual transactions that take place at a retail point of sale for a means of virtual merchandising.
(2) Related Prior Art
Retail industries can exist anywhere. The historical version of retail was the actual retail point of sale. A retailer established a store where customers could visit, look at merchandise and make purchases. The customer had to visit the store in order to purchase the products. Other forms of retailing have existed like local street vendors, door-to-door salesmen, shop-by-telephone, mail order catalogs, informercial shop-by telephone, and most recently, the Internet.
To understand the difference between this invention and prior art, one must first be able to understand the differences between retail point of sale and other methods of sale. There is always a time variable involved with merchandising transactions, but one should not make the mistake of assuming that time is the essential element that distinguishes between direct purchases and those on account. The basic formula for establishing a credit account is where the purchase price (P) of a product can be paid at a later time (T), an interest rate (R) can be assessed, and the amount paid (A)=P(I+R)T.
A person may gain extra time to pay for a purchase by using credit, but it is the agreement between parties that one will extend credit to the other that creates a credit account. Time has no meaning in the direct purchase formula (A)=P. For that matter, there is always some lag between the time payment is tendered and possession takes place even if for just split seconds. Sometimes a lag between payment and possession requires a voucher so that the purchaser has some proof that payment has been made. The voucher is usually just a simple sales receipt. Other times it can be a ticket such as for attending a theater or other engagement. The voucher in this case does not represent an account or value of money. The voucher merely represents that the transaction has been completed and the merchandise, whether physical merchandise or simply entertainment, has been authorized.
Retail points of sale transactions involve at least one in-person contact with the buyer. On the Internet, it has always been assumed that this transaction must be conducted virtually on the Internet; after all, the Internet is a virtual realm. With the huge rise in popularity the Internet, there are rising concerns from the public about who should and who should not be able to access certain Internet content such as but not limited to: materials with copyrights such as music, content that is adult in nature, or other restricted access material.
Regulatory authorities and web masters have made attempts to control access through the selling of access rights over the Internet itself. These services are often called subscription based I.D. or age verification services. User names and passwords or other means of secure access have been delivered to consumers after they entered credit card information. This has become an accepted means of control, particularly with Adult Verification systems.
Public Key infrastructure (PKI) is one method that has evolved into a secure and anonymous means of handling web transactions through the uses of encryption, trusted vendors, and trusted banking institutions. PKI methods of Web transactions involve digital signature and money transactions over the Internet. They require a customer, a bank, a merchant, a public archive such as an Internet web site, Certificate Authorization servers, and encryption and decryption of the data.
Most secure web transactions require cookies and Web delivered applets (such as JAVA). A cookie is information that a Web site puts on an end-users hard disk so that it can use the information at a later time.
Using the Web's Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), each request for a Web page is independent of all other requests. For this reason, the Web page server has no memory of what pages it has sent to a user previously or anything about previous visits. A cookie is a mechanism that allows the server to store its own information about a user on the user's own computer. For example, some browsers store cookies in a file subdirectory and others store cookies as a single text file. Some computers employ programs to ensure that cookies are not used and that the browser caching system will not keep a record of websites visited. A programming sequence flow diagram for a cookie free cache back mini-application may look something like this:                Secure On Routine        Make directory/temp/cachebak        Change directory/cachebak        Copy fat.db cachebak        Folder Copy Temporary Internet Files cachebak        Disable cookies in Internet Options settings        Disable JAVA        Secure Off Routine        Prompt user “download complete”        Compare fat.db to fat.db/cachebak        Compare Temporary Internet Files to Temporary Internet Files cachebak        Delete fat.db        Delete Temporary Internet Files        Copy cachebak fat.db to fat.db        Copy cachebak/Temporary Internet Files to Temporary Internet Files        Enable JAVA        END        
Retail Point of Sale Apparatus (RPOS) For Internet Merchandising is a return to the simplistic approach of pre-Internet ways of doing business, but it is not an obvious approach. As malicious attackers of Internet communications become more common, the Internet security measures become increasingly sophisticated. The RPOS takes away some of the sophistication and uses much simpler yet effective technology in its place. The predefined transaction authorizes access to web content from a place off the web, originates at a real place of business, and is a concept that a trained Internet professional may not be able to grasp immediately; they have been conditioned towards more complicated means of accomplishing the tasks directly on the Internet.
RPOS would not negatively affect any electronic commerce as it currently operates. It would primarily be used in conjunction with current methods. A return to a retail establishment for conducting Web business may hold great promise for Internet security in the future. A search of past practices and inventions reveals a great deal of effort spent on avoiding over-the-counter transactions for Internet e-commerce rather than embracing it as does the RPOS technology.
There are three key questions to be asked when attempting to differentiate the technology:                i. Do they take cash?        ii. Is there an establishment that acts on behalf of the customer for payment that employs non-virtual (Retail point of sale) to complete the transaction?        iii. Does the customer have to physically go to the establishment to buy it?        
The field of Internet e-commerce has numerous existing patents. A complete search for prior history was not done prior to this filing but a few similar patents were found through a most basic search of the on-fine USPTO patent databases. They are reference below to help set the stage for one skilled in the art of Internet commerce to understand the differences between RPOS and previous methods.
This invention is not a Prepaid Internet Access Card, such as used to supply the purchaser of minutes on an Internet Service Providers (ISP) system, see examples U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,749,975; 5,987,612; 5,749,075, 5,987,430.
This invention is not merely a method for recording information on a card, computer disk, or other means of recording, see example U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,733. The method of recording might be bar code, magnetic tape, smart card, written inscription, or any means of recording information. This invention is not used to locate a specific URL, but is used to divine the predetermined transaction that provided access to a particular URL location.
This invention is not an organizational Internet access security system whereby business organizations control access to web content of their own employees or to others on a closed network or to generate personalized content pages for specific business purposes, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,166.
This invention is not an Internet cash token system used as an anonymous means to get money to spend on the Internet. See examples U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,078; 6,072,870; 6,061,660; 6,042,149.
This invention is not electronic-voucher system, which places a third party URL as the guarantor of funds. See example U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,381.
This invention is not a mobile Internet media content delivery device in which the device itself carries the content. See examples U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,018,720.
This invention is not a means to preview merchandise and set up an account to purchase—as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,213, where the merchandise merely previewed at the point of sale, but then the transaction is conducted as an off the shelf purchase, through typical Internet methods, or phone-in-sale automated means. The retail point of sale apparatus for Internet Merchandising is a new means for conducting the actual transaction that could be added to such a system.
This invention is not a device for delivering media content through on-line programmable smart card authorization such as used in satellite television programming, or Web TV devices, where a home user of the system can call in on the telephone to order Pay-per-view programming. In these systems the smart card both receives and supplies data to the system over a private network. RPOS does not require programming after the initial over-the-counter transaction.
Although the user of the RPOS may be known, it can also be used completely anonymously.
This invention is much like an event ticket to a movie theater or music concert except that the RPOS is specifically used for access (entrance) to Internet merchandising.
While RPOS can facilitate Secure Web Transactions, it is not a method of the transaction, merely an apparatus of divining the existence of a predetermined web transaction. It does not require a trusted vendor, trusted bank, or buyer authentication. While RPOS may facilitate some of the same types of functions mentioned above, it uses a completely new method.